


Golden Remedy

by super_vanilla



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Eda Clawthorne Needs a Hug, Gen, Light Angst, References to Addiction, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29878392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_vanilla/pseuds/super_vanilla
Summary: The elixir — the only thing keeping Eda from becoming an owl beast, a form she was cursed with — has been losing its effectiveness, producing a number of side effects and making the life of its user more difficult day by day.This little story of Eda getting into trouble trying to acquire another batch of elixir could have taken place in a continuity in which the curse got worse prior to Luz's arrival on the isles.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Golden Remedy

A splitting headache, sore bones, burning brightness of the sun blasting through the half-shut eyelids, small twigs and bones of tiny rodents entangled in hair, tense nerves, brewing nausea and boiling hatred for every particle of Titan's creation: good morning, Eda.

Turning on her side, she hears the sound of glass vials clinking. A blurry glance across her nest reveals the grey and brown tones of its interior diluted by white bows of sunlight resting on transparent glass of the elixir bottles, and not a single speck of golden liquid in any of them catching her sight. "Great," she thinks, forcing herself to get up through the feeling of tremor in her legs. She trudges towards the mirror. She wishes she didn't.

A dark glow in her eyes and paleness of her gem don't promise a good start of the day. Drawing a spell circle to poof the nest trash away from her hair didn't work. Despite the elixir warding off the curse, her magic wouldn't obey her. Was it because of the pain and tiredness or because the potion no longer delivers as much as it used to? In any case, she needed more.

Carrying her rusty, flaring up bones into the kitchen, she's reaching for a glass of apple blood, as its bold bitterness is just the thing to get her motor kickstarted. Looking out the wide window she sees the sun high in the blue skies pouring its warmth down on Bonesborough. The weather is perfect, as if tailor-made to add insult to injury — a cue for a good gulp of the drink.

"Owlbert!" —she calls for her magic staff which rests against the couch. The palisman awakens, turns his head towards Eda, looks at her and turns still again, clearly not wishing to cooperate while his owner is in that state. She can't blame him — she's not exactly in the shape to fly, not without hurling the contents of her stomach over the half of Bonesborough, although its townsfolk deserves it.

She picks up her staff and gently scretches the palisman's head: "I know what you're thinking, Owlbert, but you've got to go with me. That's a far less annoying alternative than the sight of me staying here dying in agony." Overhearing the Owl Lady talk, Hooty opens the entrance door, interrupting the moment: "I am always in agony! Hoot hoot!"  
"You don't say. Where's King?"  
"Digging for treasure outside! Hoot!"  
"What treasure?" —she says, stepping out of the door, seeing nothing but the bright blue color everywhere. She's making a few steps ahead while her eyes are adjusting to the brightness, when—  
"Argh! What in the Titan's name is that?!" —she exclaims, finding herself at the bottom of a small pit. "Hah! Feed the worms, you fiend!" —she heard a brash thin voice hovering above her.  
"King?"  
"Eda?"  
"That's a bit early for my funeral" —she remarks, getting up.  
"Sorry Eda, I was setting up a trap for whatever poor soul loses themselves in the woods, hoping to keep them in the hole until they submit to my command."  
"You're gonna need a deeper hole than that. Anyway, I'm heading for the market to get another batch of elixir."  
"But didn't you buy your monthly supply last week?"  
"Yes, I did. Unfortunately, it's gotten less effective, one bottle is no longer enough to silence the beast. I don't know how long I can keep this up..." —she sighs.  
"Can you just transfer the curse on the first victim to fall in my pit?"  
"If only it was that easy, I would've done it ages ago, probably."  
King worryingly look at Eda's tired face.  
"I'm sure you'll think of something. You've gotten out of worse situations than that, right?"  
Eda didn't answer.  
"Anyway, do you want me to keep you company?"  
"Thanks, but I already got Owlbert to look after me."

***

Ten minutes later the prospects of staying in the Owl House dying in agony didn't seem so bad to Eda.  
The pain she experienced upon waking up was a mere warning for what's to come: the freshness of forest air turned dizzying, aggravating the nausea. She leaned onto a tree at the edge of a path when she heard voices nearby.  
"Like, can you believe it? It was all oily and stretchy and tasted like sugar!"  
Eda spotted a pink-skinned three-eyed witch wearing a Hexside uniform along with some cronies heading towards her.  
"And he claimed it was the best chocolate on the market, presenting me this cheap crap. What's the point to all those philistines lining up to impress you if they can't get your basic preferences right? Ugh!"  
"Oh no," Eda thinks to herself, it's the same kind of prissy, smug attitude against which she waged many wars in her school years, never completely vanquishing it, but being a major pain to anyone who chose to exhibit it. Memory of an old scourge echoed in a spasm, foreshadowing the inevitable. The young witches drew closer.  
"Maybe I should post a list of my requirements on penstagram so—"  
Bleurrrggh! Eda's stomach has liberated itself all over the three-eyed witch uniform.  
"Like—" —she froze in a sentence, "What in the hex was that?"  
"A bouquet from a secret admirer," Eda blurted out, wiping her mouth.  
"Get her!" —the witch commanded, drawing a spell circle.  
"Owlbert, go!" —Eda shouted, saddling her staff. She flew up through the pines until the sky above the forested outstretched in front of her.  
"Nothing as liberating as puking over a schoolgirl, eh, Owlbert?"  
She set her direction towards the Bonesborough market.


End file.
